Slow Seafood Market Packs Nn Company In Clam Heaven

Polluted local waters and dwindling numbers of crabs, oysters and fish on the local seafood market have caused one Newport News business to look to clam products as a means of survival.

Jody Adams and son, Eddie Townsend, who own and operate Old Dominion Crab Company, Inc. at the Small Boat Harbor, have developed a pint-size package of chopped clams frozen in natural juices to tempt the American consumer.

"It is surprising that nobody has come up with the idea to offer chopped clams in smaller quantities for the average family," says Adams, noting that her supply of clams come from the deep waters off the Atlantic Coast and are purer than those dredged locally.

"Usually packing companies put seafood up in bulk sizes...a minimum order of 1,200 pounds... for the restaurant trade. Sure there are whole clams in jars, but they don't have much of a shelf life. Canned clams are available, but they are expensive and have a lot of preservatives added. Ours are fresh and all chopped up ready to go."

Essentially, Old Dominion Crab Company purchases the frozen and processed clams and repacks them in smaller containers at their Newport News-based plant. One pint of the bite-size morsels can feed a seven-member family.

Retail prices for the chopped clams range from $3.29 to $3.69 a pint at grocery stores. The product, which has the required safety seal around its lid, has been placed in seafood sections at Farm Fresh, Food Lion and UKrop's stores and in area military commissaries.

"We guarantee that our product is grit and shell free. We've taken the hard belly out of the clams and they will last as longer than most any other seafood," says Townsend, explaining that the belly section is where bacteria starts in a clam.

"Our product, which is just about bacteria free, is nutritional, healthy and economical. Clams are good for people on restricted diets. In the frozen form the chopped clams can last indefinitely. They will keep for two weeks or more after thawing."

One pint of chopped clams will make about half a gallon of nutritional chowder, they say, claiming there is more meat in the container than in canned clams.

The idea for the frozen chopped clams was developed out of necessity, according to the packing company owners.

"We needed something new to survive in the crab processing business. So many companies have gone under because the crab and fish business is down, and oysters are almost a thing of the past," he says, noting that the shortage has caused the prices of most seafoods "to go through the ceiling."

Adams says the clams are ideal for cooks who have to count their pennies. "Chopped clams can be prepared in many ways. You can make New England, Manhatten or even Bull Island style clam chowder; clam fritters, clam dip, or even use it in spaghetti sauce."

The sides of the red, green and predominantly white pint-size container carries the company logo plus a recipe for "Jody's Southern Clam Chowder." Her plan is to change the recipe on the container several times a year in hopes of educating people on the merits of clams and how they can be cooked.

Her recipe is easy to follow and even the novice cook can turn out a tasty bowl of chowder in about 30 minutes. The clams do not have to be fully thawed before they are poured into the boiling broth made of potatoes, bacon slices, diced onions and celery. The chowder is even better if it is refrigerated overnight.

In an effort to make the new product more visible, Adams and Townsend recently hired sales director May Haycox.

"Clams are much better for the kids than fried potatoes and cakes," Adams points out. "Clam fritters taste good and are much better for you than hamburgers."

She claims that the chopped clams made into into chowder form will cost the average family about 50 cents a serving.

"I know the market is out there for our new seafood product. Clams are healthier and cheaper for people than some other foods. I have even heard that clam juice prevents colds." she says.

"If our deep-water clam product catches on, we'd be able to hire people round the clock. Now we have only seasonal work to offer."

Although contaminated waterways in the Tidewater area have caused several packing companies to close down, Adams says Old Dominion will not be one of them.

"I've been in the business too long to stop now," she maintains.

After a divorce in 1976, she purchased her husband's half-interest in the business. Until that time, she seldom went to the crab packing plant which was established in 1952 at the Small Boat Harbor. At times, the plant has hired approximately 90 pickers, who produce 1,000 pounds of crab meat a day.

Working in a male-dominated business does not bother Adams, who was in the government work force for 20 years, where she was a management analyst for NASA at the Space Center in Houston, and has worked as a computer systems analyst at various local military installations before retiring to pack crabs.

She was the only woman crab company operator along the East Coast when she took over the Old Dominion Crab Co. in 1977. At the time, it was classified the largest physical plant for crab packing and processing in the state.

Her son was a firefighter for Hampton and was assigned to the station at Langley Research Center before he joined the company 12 years ago.

"Eddie keeps the company going. He is here night and day, overseeing every aspect of the operation," says his mother.

Both admit they'd be as happy as the proverbial clam if their new product catches on like they believe it can.